The heart of the wise inclines to the right,
but the heart of the fool to the left

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Houston and a bit'o live blogging

Thoughts from the convention:

This is big. About 5500 delegates and more miscellaneous people scattered about the seemingly endless teeming mass of humanity gathered together to celebrate the uniquely American past time of politics and peaceful conventions.

So after some heavy handed tactics by the chairman of the convention, whom a colleague of mine has likened to a ‘Castro style handling of the issues’, and more caucuses to decide upon who can actually vote tomorrow, the day is finished. My friends and I are now heading out for dinner, and we’re coming back for a Ron Paul ice cream function.

Ice Cream Social:

Big, it seems as if a third of the convention is present. Terrible music is emanating from the back wall of the Great Ballroom of the Houston Hilton. It seems remarkably similar to what we mock on early episodes of American idol, yet continues to bore into my auditory systems with reckless abandon. The ice cream itself is spectacular, with Blue Bell as the base and a bazillion toppings to adorn it.

As of now, Ron Paul himself is strangely absent, but my sources indicate it’s possible he will suspend his presidential campaign tonight. Maybe that is why heavy servings of alcohol are present, to drown the potential sorrows of the moribund Paulites.

Ah-ha! The music has changed to somewhat good guitar country, and there was much rejoicing.

Being a page at these conventions has pros and cons. Being involved with such a process is a blessing, and seeing the machine of politics painfully turn its cogs is in fact inspiring. But long periods of boredom, filled with an abject sense of powerlessness to alter the situation do begin to wear on the mind. That’s where card games with fellow pages come in handy, which we spent a good 3 hours all told today playing.

Oh, music changed. It’s an old folksy singer wailing about voting Ron Paul. Not inspiration, but it’s got a nice tune. A bell just rang through the air, presumably the liberty bell, announcing the presence of another Ron Paul promoter. And again.

Judging from the response in this room, the majority of these supporters are on a more radical anti-war crusade then a domestic crusade.

Here stands the man himself, and the crowd is deafening. Ron Paul chants are taken up across the room; this man is literally a hero and living legend to many. Incredible. Now he mentions Texas, and the room explodes with sonic shockwaves quite literally shaking trays nearby.

Apparently, there are 22,000 new precinct chairs in the country, and Ron Paul is glad. He’s also emphasizing the movement factor of this campaign, and its grass roots strength, rather then as a presidential campaign. Crowd likes it.

So apparently there’s another candidate who talks about change. But Ron Paul talks about real change. I agree.

Paraphrase of statement: ‘I am absolutely convinced that we do not have to give up personal liberties to establish our security.’ Eh? What have I given up?

Bridges are falling down? What the heck? Are we still railing about nutzy bridge collapses in Minnesota? *grumble about red herrings*

Strange announcement from Ron, he’s apparently hosing a parallel event in Minneapolis, and all the delegates are coming. Is this the formation of a new party?? The platform shall be the constitution, as he just stated. The Campaign for Liberty shall be its name.

He does bring up a good point. Movements start small and hungry, as this one is. In the words of Orson Scott Card, ‘Most people want to be left alone, that is why history can be affected by astonishingly small numbers of people.’

Ahhh… I will swear upon a bible that he’s been babbling for the past 12 minutes.

He’s done now… this is the strangest thing. He essentially just left his constituents without guidance, which I guess is how this entire campaign has been run. I don’t know what lasting developments will come from this, but it was an interesting experience.

You went to the Paul ice cream function and I didn't! *am crying tears of rage and envy* No fair, since you're not a Paul-tard. That really hurts.

I tried watching it live off of some blog, but it was 10pm over here instead of 9pm... and the guy was putting the camra on the tripod AFTER he started flimming... and the singer was wwwaaaaaayyyyyyyy out of tune (and it wasn't Bach)... and I had gotten up at 5am; hence, I opted to go to bed and read what Paul had to say later. Lazy, I know. :D

The reason Paul dropped is so that he can have his "March on Washington" July 12 (I will participate*grins happily*), very clever of him if you think about it. After all, campaign laws wouldn't allow him to if he was a candidate (thankyou, McCain-Feingold).

"Paraphrase of statement: ‘I am absolutely convinced that we do not have to give up personal liberties to establish our security.’ Eh? What have I given up?" Do you really want to know what you've given up? If you travel by air you must know several things: 1) you are view as a criminal 2) you are searched without a warrant, probable cause, or anything of like nature 3) free speech is prohibited--even challenge their right to treat you this way or crack a joke or anything and they'll tote you off to prison 4) at all times while in the air you are in danger of exicution without a trial--if some unknown person decides that your flight is off course, BOOM! they'll send an F-16 and blow you out of the sky.

Are you thinking that I don't know what I'm talking about? Are you thinking, "If its so bad why do you fly?" Well I do know what I'm talking about and my dad HAD to fly. Some time after the big Enron blow up my dad (an IT guy) flew back and forth from Houston to Tampa every weekend, for two years, so that the rest of us could stay in Texas since the homeschool laws are more restictive in Florida. We finally found a loop-hole law and thats why we now live in Fl. :D

So, yes, you have given up freedom, probably in subtle ways, little digs of slight discomfort that are justified because its "for your own good". That's why I always seem so grumpy, I see every little "infingement" as leading to bigger and bigger power grabs.

Jeana, is Paul-tard the proper phrase?I saw one guy with a camera on a tripod. He was having a pretty rough time of it. Going to washington, lucky...Ok, flying. I had that thought as I typed it out, but let me respond to your points.1. Viewed as a Criminal/2. Searched without a warrant I am willingly subjugating myself to a search, and possibly questioning when I choose to fly public air. Airports are not private affairs, but rather government ones. Similar to restrictions on handguns in a court room or bomb searches at the white house, I willingly follow the rules.If this concerns me, I can fly private aircraft at private airports.3. Prohibited speechHonestly, is the security line a place to make political protests? I think I may try this prison sentence educing joke setup. I believe if this were really the case, we'd have large masses of white collar comedians in our penal systems. 4. ExecutionI'm under threat of execution without a trial every time I get in my car, walk across a street, or board a train, subway, bus, taxi, or any other mass transit system. I'm I have been deemed an imminent threat to society, or I'm part of something that has that potiental, then it is the duty of the goverment to protect the most people possible. Jeana, thanks for commenting and your always welcome here.

"sounds like you are having fun, i actually was planning on going too, but my mom's best friend just passed away last week and i had to cancel.wish i could bring mom some of that ice cream to cheer her up......."

Restricted freedom? How about the fact that you can't tear down a wall or build an addition to your house without your city's approval. Who are they to tell me what I can and cannot do with my own personal property.

On one of my beloved off-topic side notes, could you please read my comment on your "Myanamar jacks up aid" post. No reply on my response to your post in specific (the first half) is necessary.

Had to jump in on the last comment by shadowsoflove. We the people made it so you can't tear down a wall and such on your property, cause we wanted to preserve the value of our property investments next to your property. There is a long history of limiting what people can do with their property when it affects the value of nearby properties in America, from the very beginning. We the people made laws to protect ourselves from people who would abuse their freedom in a way that affects other people. "The laws were not made for the righteous, but for sinners". The more decadent a society, the less freedom people will have in order to maintain societal order. I think it's pretty obvious to many why RP's ideas are attractive, but totally unworkable from the perspective of preserving and protecting society from the effects and machinations of a very present and real evil - those by nature who will not exercise self government.

I think BCBC makes an excellent point. Wasn't it John Adams who said that the government of the United States was designed for a moral, religious people, and that it wouldn't work for anyone else?

The more our country turns its back on God and righteousness, the more narcissistic and ungodly it becomes. More and more repressiveness is needed to maintain order, and once a government assumes or usurps power, it seldom gives it back without a fight.

AAG, there's always going to be more conventions, so you can come next time.

Shadows, restrictions on tearing down fences has exactly nothing to do with the Patriot act and other Bush policies Ron Paul was ridiculing. I hadn't realized there was a response to the Aid post, I'll take a look at it.

Jim and Joel, I'm going to agree. Although perhaps with a less pessimistic bent. :D